Newcastle United are prepared to push the boat out and pay £50 million for Moussa Diaby, but Dean Jones has told Give Me Sport that the Magpies are struggling to make a breakthrough in their pursuit of the winger.
Diaby is attracting plenty of attention. He scored 17 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen this past season.
Reports have claimed that Arsenal and Newcastle want Diaby. The latter have apparently made contact over a potential move for the France international.
Jones has confirmed that Newcastle are prepared to break their transfer record for the 22-year-old. However, he also suggested that there are still plenty of hurdles for Eddie Howe’s men to clear.
“They do definitely want him and would like to push the boat out, too. But even though they’d be willing to pay £50m for him, they just can’t make any breakthrough at the moment,” he told Give Me Sport.
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Newcastle prepared to push boat out for Diaby
Diaby is reportedly valued at £60 million. So Newcastle may not be too far away from Leverkusen’s asking price. Obviously, much will depend on whether the Bundesliga side have any willingness to discuss a potential sale.
It would be quite a statement for Newcastle to sign the wide-man. The Telegraph reported that their summer budget is likely to be less than £90 million.
They are apparently prepared to spend much of it on Diaby. That highlights just how highly Newcastle rate the ‘astonishing‘ youngster, and how good they believe he could become.
Clearly, Leverkusen are digging their heels in right now. And that may leave Newcastle with little option other than to pursue other names on their radar.